Lee R. Smith was an artist, teacher, and graphic designer. His life drawings and portraits, which spanned the 35 years between 1945 and his death in 1980, elegantly memorialize him in the homes and hearts of many in Marblehead and elsewhere. Lee created a spectrum of works, from formal finished portraits to the 30-second teaching sketches he made for his students. He left an art legacy enriched by his skill as a teacher and as a professional graphic designer. Smith’s artistic skills and enduring love for the Festival were honored in July 1981, one year after his death at the age of 52, in a special retrospective exhibit of his work. The 1981 Festival Program said of Smith, “He loved the Festival and the people of the Festival. That he should be remembered by this retrospective show and that an annual award be established in his honor would have moved him to tears.” The first Lee R. Smith Award, which was selected by members of the Smith family, Festival representative Gail Turner, and Marblehead artist Sally Low, was given during the 1981 Festival of Arts and is now awarded annually as part of the Festival’s Drawing Exhibit.